Muboraksho
Chor Javon

The men, what wonderful and terrible creatures at the same time! They can destroy and corrupt everything they touch; fanaticism, fundamentalism, hatred, intolerance. Every day we are overwhelmed by distressing news, news that speaks of war, of prevarication, of men who, in the name of a false and distorted ideal, lose the most basic principles of humanity, respect towards their fellow humans, towards culture, towards art. This creates distrust, fear, hatred for what is unknown, what is distant, what is different; the Salvinis and the Netanyahus disgust me as much as the jihadists, they are the exact same thing, even if their methods are more "human" in form. Yet man is also a poet, an artist, a deep and sensitive soul; Muboraksho was, without a shadow of doubt. I have already spoken to you about this wonderful artist, now I will tell you about how one of his songs can be the perfect response to all prejudices and other base human instincts.

Muboraksho composed this song, "Chor Javon", at the age of 14. I imagine that the life of a boy in a village in Badakhshan is anything but simple, yet he found the inspiration to pick up a guitar, or an equivalent instrument, and give life to this melody, to these words much greater than his very young age. Muboraksho, or Misha if you prefer, was Muslim, probably Nizari, a very minority branch of Shia Islam but deeply rooted in his land, a land that was the last stronghold of the Basmachis, fighters for an Islamic emirate in Central Asia who held Soviet Union of Lenin and then of Stalin at bay for almost twenty years. Born in 1961, Misha therefore wrote this song in 1975: the grip of the USSR was still firm, yet in that borderland ancient customs have never been forgotten, as have the old tensions and grudges, ready to explode again at the slightest sign of weakness, as indeed happened.

"Chor Javon" was officially recorded at the end of the '80s and became Muboraksho's most known song along with the more relaxed and passionate "Ay Yorum Biyo". It is a ballad of rare beauty, the synthesizers create an intimate and enveloping atmosphere, which further enhances the heartfelt voice of the singer and a bitter melody, which spirals on itself in a painful spiral but full of charm and evocative power.

Four young men have left / each of them took up a rifle / they left full of desires / oh allah, oh allah, oh allah / The father said to his sons / Please do not leave tomorrow / your journey will be full of dangers / oh allah, oh allah, oh allah / the mother said / my boys, I disagree / your path will be full of dangers, I swear by Allah / All four left / an avalanche swept them away on the slope / The Mullah recited the funeral eulogy / oh allah, oh allah, oh allah / and the mother wept / struck her head on a stone / mourned for her sons / oh allah, oh allah, oh allah

This is my translation, I think it is the first time the lyrics of this song have been translated into our language, I hope I have captured the spirit and original purpose of the song: it can be interpreted in many ways, not necessarily linked to jihad, perhaps not even to war in a broader sense; the four brothers could very well have taken up their rifles for a simple hunting trip, but in my opinion, the ominous omens from the parents and that avalanche, almost a divine punishment for a serious sin, suggest something broader, deeper. In any case, they are words that make you reflect, on the fragility of youth and its impulses, on the terrible consequences of actions born from ideals that were even just at the beginning; "Chor Javon" is a warning that echoes continuously in my mind, every time I learn of new atrocities perpetrated in the name of doctrines born of men and their impurities, certainly not of higher entities.